Favorite Teams

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., don't have much in common. But they joined forces on an amendment aimed at sweeping away the hurdles to hemp production in states that allow it.

You'd be hard-pressed counting all the ways that Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are out to do each other in politically.

Even before Oregon's May 20 primary, McConnell had contributed $5,000 to Republican Monica Wehby, who is now opposing Merkley in the fall election. "I'd say to the women in the room," McConnell said at a recent campaign event, "you'd love our candidate in Oregon."

For his part, Merkley frequently uses McConnell as a foil. This week, his campaign manager, Alex Youn, told supporters that Merkley has "never been afraid to take on the Republican leadership in Washington D.C., even going on the Senate floor to challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell for parroting right-wing talking points."

But on Thursday, Merkley's office sent out a press release noting that "Merkley worked across the aisle with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to pass a bipartisan amendment requiring the Department of Justice to respect Oregon and Kentucky's state industrial hemp laws."

Their brief alliance drew the attention of the National Journal, which noted that "finding agreement among politically opposite members is possible when their home-state interests are at stake." Both Oregon and Kentucky allow the growing of hemp -- the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana -- and advocates in both states have been seeking to remove the last federal hurdles standing in their way.

Other Oregon congressional items from the week:

TRANSPORTATION BILL: Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he plans to move a transportation funding bill through his committee before the July 4 recess.